July 13, 2016

You likely remember Val Venis from his time in the WWE. He worked for the company for over a decade from 1998-2009 in various roles. He is a European, Intercontinental and World Tag Team Champion with the WWE during his tenure. Since leaving the WWE, Val Venis has still wrestled independently along with owning his own Medical Marijuana business. In a heartfelt facebook post, he recently spoke about the chair shot that changed his life. It is a really detailed post about the brain injury he suffered as well as his recovery.
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Val Venis (real name Sean Morely) posted this on his Facebook page about the chair shot from Triple H that changed his life:

THE CHAIR SHOT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

It was a November 2005 match against HHH where I took one of the most vicious chair shots to the head the wrestling industry had ever seen. This chair shot was a humbling and very scary experience. Prior to that chair shot, I felt indestructible. After that chair shot, I realized I was mortal. I never said anything to the staff, trainers, medics or any of my colleagues as I wanted to continue performing on the road and knew I would be pulled off the road if I mentioned anything about the chair shot rattling my brain into a heavy concussion. I did not even tell Lourdes at the time as I knew she would have called the office and spilled the beans. I spent almost 1 full year with one pupil dilated wide open while the other pupil was the size of a pin hole. I experienced nausea for about a month but it soon subsided. Ringing in my ears was the norm for quit a few months after this chair shot. I had many sleepless nights, found reading difficult as my focus was drastically reduced. Remembering spots or finishes became noticeably difficult for a few months after that chair shot. I remember feeding HHH and getting my hand up followed by looking up at the ceiling of the arena not knowing where I was or even what I was doing there. I’m guessing it took about 10 seconds or so before I realized I was performing in a match and I needed to finish out this segment. I do not recall taking the pedigree afterwards or even being back in the ring after said chair shot. My ears rang at a constant level for quite some time afterwards. Needless to say, in March 2010, I was joyful over the fact the WWE banned chair shots to the head. I would like to see all wrestling companies ban chair shots to the head. It’s just not worth fucking up your brain or your life. I can honestly say that chair shot to my head began one of the most difficult years of my life and I could not tell anyone. Brain injuries take a long time to heal if the brain ever does actually heal. I had taken many chair shots to the head prior to that one November 2005 match with HHH. None caused me any grief or noticeable injuries. That said, it only takes one heavy blow to the head where you feel the lasting, annoying and extremely frustrating effects that will throw a monkey wrench into everything that defines you as a human being. WWE absolutely did the right thing banning chair shots to the head. Performers who cling to the old school mentality of “if your not tough enough to take a chair shot, you should not be in the business” are putting their lives in serious jeopardy. It’s extremely difficult to put into words how it feels to have a severe concussion. It’s life changing. I do regret not speaking up and seeking treatment at the time and if I could go back in time, I would have sought treatment and not have worried so much about losing a spot on the roster. I appauld the WWE taking the initiative to ban chair shots to the head. The company did a tremendous favor to the current crop of WWE Superstars. Let’s hope other wrestling companies around the world follow the WWE’s lead and adopt the same policy. Hopefully, in the future I can appauld the WWE for changing their policy in regards to cannabis. Cannabis absolutely helps brain injuries. But that is another rant for another time.